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Premier American Collector |
Viktor Vekselberg Link of Times Collection |
Collectors
Dates in parentheses refer to and are linked to the Newsletters
Dr. George Dean, a family physician, and his wife Vivian, are avid collectors of chess sets. Among their treasures is a Fabergé set shown in the 2003 Art of Chess venue at the Gilbert Collection in London, and it was the feature selection in the “Ultimate Gifts Guide” of The Robb Report, December 2004.
Provenance: The chess set was commissioned as a gift to the recipient during the ill-fated invasion of Manchuria in 1904, and is inscribed, "To warmly beloved and dear Commander General Adjutant Alexei Nikolaevich Kuropatkin in memory of Manchuria 1904-05 from those devoted and grateful to him."
Dr. Dean enjoys telling about the purchase of this set from the late A. Kenneth Snowman in 1977. It seems the set had just been placed in a display case at Wartski, the adverts were ready to appear in two distinguished art journals (Apollo and Connoisseur, December 1977, ad pages 105 and 11, respectively) ... and to this day the Fabergé set has been the pride and joy of these two collectors, along with a multitude of tearsheets from the two journals. Dr. Dean states that much to his dismay unauthorized reproductions made in Paris are on the market for $25,000. (03.08)
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Picture frames, desk clocks and bell pushes, used to awaken his own children in childhood, are part of the over 100 objects of the D. Lee Hodges Family Collection. His children best describe Dr. Hodges’ enthusiasm - “our father’s passion for the chase is only surpassed by his enthusiasm for the pursuit of knowledge, as it pertains to the pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg and Moscow workshops of Fabergé.” Exhibited November 8, 2008 - January 11, 2009, at the New Orleans Museum of Art (Louisiana) with a catalog, The Opulent Object: Fabergé from the D. Lee Hodges Family Collection.
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Fabergé brooch worn by Elton John, English pop/rock singer, composer and pianist, in the book by Bobby Miller, Fabulous: A Photographic Diary of Studio 54, 1998, is also shown as lot 139 from the Kazan sale at Christie's New York, April 15, 1997. (Courtesy: Roy Tomlin 07.07) Further illustrated in Ghosn, Michel Y. Collection William Kazan: Objects de Vertu par Fabergé, 1996, 180, with a detailed provenance.
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Kudos to classical concert guitarist Christian Thomas Lee, who shares his personal collection of fine art through the Arts in Schools program of the Mercy Foundation. His teaching collection of a silver-gilt enamel Fabergé teaspoon and a modern Rosebud Egg travels to poor inner city and rural schools in the United States where it is studied and enjoyed by children. “Waking up in a house full with beautiful things and sharing with children” is how he describes his passion. A provenance index accompanies his website. (03.08)
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A Fabergé diamond tiara made in 1895 sold for £ 1.05 million to an anonymous buyer at Christie's in London on June 13, 2007. It was among £ 1.7 million of jewelry sold by Princess Maria Gabriella of Savoy, 67, the daughter of the last king of Italy, Umberto II. The sale was to raise money to settle a tax bill. The tiara known as the Empress Josephine tiare contains a pear-shaped or teardrop diamond given by Tsar Alexander I to the Empress Josephine. Pre-sale estimate £ 390,000. The Times (London), June 5, 2007, 41 and The Times (London), June 14, 2007, 29. (06.07)
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“On June 21, 1904, the New York Stock Exchange was presented with a resplendent gift from the Imperial Russian Government: a stone and silver urn crafted by Carl Fabergé…” so begins the history of this approximately six foot tall gift on display in the Board Room of the NYSE. It is carved from red malachite, trimmed with silver and sits on a pedestal of green malachite. The urn was a token of appreciation from Tsar Nicholas II to this American financial institution “for its help in floating a $1 billion loan in 1902 to the Russian government, a large amount for its time”.
“Underwritten by a prestigious syndicate of investments banks including J. P. Morgan & Co., it was a dramatic indication of the growing importance of the New York financial markets … the bonds were finally suspended from trading on the NYSE in 1921." (Courtesy of Susan Johnson, 01.07)
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The Russian art collection of the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife, soprano Galina Vishnevskaya, was bought privately by the Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov for reportedly more than the $20 - 40 million it was expected to fetch at auction. The Washington Post (9/20/07) states “he will turn over the entire purchase to the (Russian) state.” Included in the sale of 450 objects were a cut-glass decanter and punch bowl by Fabergé.
James C. Russo, a New Jersey native and former record-label promoter, ”has a new passion: helping educate needy children around the world, ... sparked by a 2006 visit to Thailand with his partner Tony Cointreau, of the Cointreau liqueur family”. His collection of royal artifacts, including an Imperial Russian Fabergé Alexander III Wedding Anniversary Desk Clock, is being offered at auction on April 24, 2008, to support his enthusiasm. Cantu, Hector. “Gentle Mission”, Heritage Magazine for the Intelligent Collector, No. 2, Winter 2008, cover, 55-57,70-72. (02.08)
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One of the most spectacular objects with a flower theme designed by the original House of Fabergé is the cyclamen tiara currently owned by the Duke and Duchess of Westminster. (08.07)
Collections 